Key locked slidable bolt fastening for attache and suitcases and the like



June 9, 1953 Filed Aug. 1, 1950 C. W. CHENEY KEY LOCKED SLIDABLE BOLT FASTENING FOR. ATTACHE AND SUITCASE-S AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 venior I n Wm; Maw/7 07m!) Attorneys June 9, 1953 c. w. CHENEY KEY LOGKED SLIDABLE BOLT FASTENING FOR I ATTACHE' AND SUITCASES AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 1, 1950 2 Sheets-SheetB By- W A ttorneyg Patented June 9, 1953 i I KEY LOCKED SLIDABLE BOLT FASTENING FOR ATTACHE AND SUITCASES AND THE LIKE Charles William Cheney, Hockley, Birmingham, England Application August 1, 1950, Serial No. 176,971 In Great Britain March 8, 1949 2 Claims.

Key locked slidable bolt fastenings of the kind to which the invention relates comprises a cooperative bolt member and a hasp member and the invention lies in the construction and operation of the key locked bolt member.

A key locked bolt member combines a casing formed by a front plate and a back plate rigidly connected, a bolt slidable in the casing between the front plate and back plates and shot automatically by a bolt spring and retracted by hand against the spring from a knob or button on the face of the front plate, and a locking member key operated to lock the bolt when in its spring shot position.

Travel goods fitted with such bolt members are exposed to all kinds of weather and rough usage and it frequently happens, in consequence, that the spring action becomes jammed or inoperative.

In a knob operated type of bolt member, to which the invention solely relates, the key is passed through a key hole in the knob and sometimes a bolt blocking member is revolubly mounted about the knob and against the face of the front plate for separate hand operation to block retraction of the bolt and to forcibly shoot a jammed bolt or a bolt the spring of which has become inoperative, but such bolt blocking member can be hand operable by any unauthorised .person and its use adds considerably to the cost of production in material, tooling, tool operations and assembly.

A key locked slidable bolt member of the knoboperated kind and according to the invention is distinctive by a combination of parts whereby the key support, the key operated locking member and the knob having the key hole in it are all slidable with the bolt and are key operative in relation to the casing so that if the action of the bolt is jammed, or its spring broken, the locking member will be key operated to shoot and lock simultaneously the bolt from any retracted position, thereby to ensure that the .bolt member can always be made to safely fasten by use of the proper key.

In the accompanying drawings a key locked bolt member having the hereinafter described and claimed combination of parts is illustrated in one form by Figs. 1 to 6, and in modified forms in Figs. 7 to 9 and Fig. 10, these forms differing in details only.

Fig. 1 is a back view of the bolt member.

Fig. 2 is a front View of Fig. 1 with the front plate in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 shows the back plate separately.

Fig. 4 shows the bolt separately.

Fig. 5 shows the locking member separately.

Fig. 6 shows the front plate separately.

Fig. 7 is a front view of a modification with a part of the front plate broken away.

Fig. 8 is a separate view of the bolt and its parts as shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 shows the front and back plates of Fig. 7 separately.

Fig. 10 shows a further modification, the bolt being assembled to the back plate.

In Figs. 1 to 6' the front plate I and the back plate 2 provide the casing, being rigidly connected at 3 and 4, the locking slot 2a and the abutment stump 20 being features of this box-like back plate.

The slidable bolt 5 is dished by a boundary flange as usual, carries a rigid key peg 5a and is slotted at 50 and 5d. a part of the latter slot being a counterpart of the slot 2a in the back plate. Two holes 6 and l are provided through the side 5c of this bolt.

The locking member 8 is revoluble on the key peg 5a. and carries a key stump 8a and a locking stump 8c, and is formed with a teat 8d to engage each of the holes 6 and l of the bolt 5 with a snap action, said locking member being held revolubly on to the key pag 5a to give this snap action.

The locking member 8 and. the bolt spring 9 are disposed within the dishing of the bolt 5 which slides between the front plate and back plates I and 2, the locking stump operating with the key bit, while the spring 9 functions between the fianging of the bolt and the abutment stump 2c of the back plate.

The front plate I is slotted and gapped as usual to provide the hasp opening and accommodation for a knob :1: (indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2) secured as usual to the bolt 5 to slide therewith and through which a key hole is provided in line with the key peg on the bolt.

The shown position of the locking member is one locking the bolt in shot position by the stump 8c engaging the transverse portion of the locking slot 2a of the back plate. If the locking member 8 is key operated clockwise to bring the stump 80 into the longitudinal portion of the slot 2a, the bolt 5 is free to be hand retracted by the knob :13 against the action of the spring 9. If the bolt becomes jammed or the spring 9 broken, the locking member can be key-operated anti-clockwise to cause the forced shooting and simultaneous locking of the bolt 5 by the action of the stump 80 within the locking slots 2a and 3 5d and, therefore, the bolt member is never useless as a fastening.

In Figs. 7-9; H] is the front plate and I I is the back plate, I2 is the slidable bolt, IS the spring for the bolt, H the key operated locking member revolubly mounted upon a key seating l5 of the bolt l2 and a: the knob for hand operation. The locking member l4 carries a key stump Ma, operates with a cam-like nose against the casing at [6 and swings between stop edges H and I8 of the bolt [2. The stumps l9 and 20 are on the bolt l2 to assist in locating the spring l3 within the dishing of the bolt [2 and the stump 2! is upon the back plate II as a casing abutment for the one free limb [3a of said spring, the other free limb l3c of which operates against the lock ing member [4 with a snap actioneach side its centre of part revolution.

The modification, Fig. 10, provides only a different shape of locking member to Figs. '7 to 9 with consequent details; the bolt carries a key peg 30 and a stop stump 3|, and the locking member 32 is provided with a key stump 320., a locking end 320, stop shoulders 32d and a snap nose 32s for the spring 33 to operate against. If the bolt l2 becomes jammed, or its spring broken, the locking member can operate to shoot and lock simultaneously the bolt from operation of the key.

What I claim is:

1. A key locked slidable bolt fastening of the kind specified comprising a casing consisting of a front plate and a. back plate rigidly interconnected in spaced relationship, said front plate having a hasp slot therein, an assembled bolt unit capable of sliding lineally in said casing, said bolt unit comprising a bolt member, stops and a key support on said bolt member, a limb spring 4 located on said bolt member, a part of said spring co-operating with said casing for shooting said bolt unit in the direction of said hasp slot, a manually operable knob on the face of said front plate, means for connecting said knob to said bolt member, said means passing through openings in said front plate and. a key operated locking member rockably mounted on said key support, said locking member also being acted upon by said spring and having key stumps and being rockable within the limits of said stops with a snap action through said spring, said locking member being capable of locking said bolt in the shot position and of co-acting with said casing when turned in one direction to shoot and lock the bolt simultaneously when said bolt remains in the retracted position and is inoperative as if through a broken spring.

2. A key locked slidable bolt fastening according to claim 1, wherein said locking member has a cam shape, said cam shape being adapted to co-cperate with an abutment on said casing and wherein said bolt member has a. boundary flange which serves to locate said spring.

CHARLES WILLIAM CHENEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

